Cover plate for covering the outer periphery of a wire reel

ABSTRACT

A cover plate for covering the outer periphery of a wire reel comprising an elongate metal plate including on its inner surface a plurality of reinforcing grooves extending continuously across the metal plate and separated in the lengthwise direction of the metal plate, said groove being dimensioned to have a depth sufficient to be deformed into two symmetrically inwards reentrant bent portions when subjected at the intermediate of the opposite side walls of the groove to an external force produced when the bottom portion of the groove is depressed and in which the re-entrant bent portions are deformed into a flat laminated surface by further depression at opposite side edges of the groove. A method of manufacturing said cover plate, comprising the steps of forming said grooves, depressing the bottom portion of said grooves to form said two symmetrically inwards re-entrant bent portions, and further depressing said re-entrant bent portions into said flat liminated surface. A cover plate manufacturing apparatus comprising a press bed, a pair of restrictable members and a plunger member.

United States'Patent 191 Mizuguchi et al.

451 Feb. 26,1974

[ COVERPLATE FOR COVERING THE OUTER PERIPHERY OF A WIRE REEL [73]Assignees: The Furukawa Electric Company Limited; Toko Kogyo KabushikiKaisha, both of Tokyo, Japan 22 Filed: 'July26, 1971 21 Appl. No.:166,229

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data 2,175,071 lO/l939 Walker ..220/72Primary Examiner-William T. Dixson, Jr. Attorney, Agent, or FirmStevens,Davis, Miller &

Mosher 57 ABSTRACT A cover plate for covering the outer periphery of awire reel comprising an elongate metal plate including on its innersurface a plurality of reinforcing grooves extending continuously acrossthe metal plate and separated in the lengthwise direction of the metalplate, said groove being dimensioned to have a depth sufficient to bedeformed into two symmetrically inwards re-entrant bent portions whensubjected at the intermediate of the opposite side walls of the grooveto an external force produced when the bottom portion of the groove isdepressed and in which the re-entrant bent portions are deformed into aflat laminated surface by further depression at opposite side edges ofthe groove. A- method of manufacturing said cover plate, comprisingthe,steps of forming said grooves, depressing the bottom portion of saidgrooves to form said two symmetrically inwards re-entrant bent portions,and further depressing said re-entrant bent portions into said flatliminated surface. A cover plate manufacturing apparatus comprising apress bed, a pair of restrictable members and a plunger member.

' 3 Claims, 21 Drawing Figures 'SHEH '02 or 11 PAIENTEH FEB 2 61974 II APATENTEDFEMB I974 SIEET '05? H PATENTEDFEBZS I974 INVENTOR ATTORNEYPATENTEU B 3.794.209

' mm :nnr 1i.

I i I I I I I I I I INVENTOR ATTORNEY This invention relates to a coverplate for covering the outer periphery of a wire reel,'the method ofmanufacturing the cover plate, andto apparatus for carrying out themethod of manufacture.

Heretofore it has been proposed to 'provide a metal cover platecomprising an elongate metal plate having on its inner surface aplurality of reinforcing ribs extending continuously across the metalplate and separated in the lengthwise direction of the metal plate. Incase of covering the outer periphery of a wire reel with the coverplate, the two opposite lengthwise edges of the cover plate which abutagainst reinforcing rings of flanges of the wire reel must be made flatwhereby the ribs are formed only at the intermediate of the cover plate.Thus, the depth of each rib becomes shallower than a certain limit andhence it was impossible to make use ofa thin metal platein order tomanufacture a coverplate, of light in weight and having a highmechanical strength.

The conventional metal cover .plate has also the disadvantage that whenthe end portions of each rib are depressed, the side walls of each ribbecome unsymmetrically deformed to cause such strain as to render thecover plate short in life.

An object of the present invention is to provide a cover 'plate for'covering the outer periphery of a wire reel, of small thickness andhaving aplurality of deep grooves whose end portions are depressed intoflat laminatedsurface withoutproducin'g any strain.

A further object is the manufacture of acover plate for covering theouter periphery ofa wire reel by deformation of both end portions ofeach deep groove into two symmetrically inwards re-entrantbent portionsand by depression of said portions into flat laminated surface. v

A further object is the provision of apress apparatus for themanufacture of a cover plate for covering the outer periphery of a wirereel, which is simple in construction and easy in operation.

In the following, the term, wire reel, shall be understood to includereels made of woodorimetal and for winding and delivering wires, ropes,cables, plastic tubes, hoses, strips, etc. The metal plateis made ofsteel with or without plated with zinc, aluminum and stainless steel,etc. and having a thickness of0.4 to 3.2 mm, preferably 0.6 to 2.3 mm.

According to the present invention there is.provided a press bed havingone surface thereof in engagement with the outer surface of an elongatemetal plate, which is not provided with a plurality of reinforcinggrooves, a pair of restrictable members which are resiliently urgedagainst the metal'plate to restrain the side walls of each ofsaidgrooves from outwards movement of the intermediate of said side walls sothat depression of the bottom portion of said groove produces twosymmetrically inwards re-entrant bent portions, and a plunger memberdisposed between said pair of restrictable members and for depressingthe bottom portion of said groove to form a flat laminated surface, saidpress bed being eventually provided at that portion thereof which is inopposition to said plunger member with a recess whose width is slightlylarger than that of said groove and said recess extending in parallelwith the lengthwise direction of said groove.

- Preferred embodiments of the present invention are illustrated in thefollowing drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the inner surface of an elongate metalplate provided with a plurality of grooves; v

FIG. 2 shows a front elevation of a cover plate manufacturing apparatusaccording to the present invention, partly in section;

FIG. 3 is its side elevation also-partly in section;

FIGS. 4 and 5 show longitudinal sections of a part of the apparatusshown in FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrating different steps of deforming agroove;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the inner surface of the metal plateshown in FIG. I and provided with a plurality of grooves whose oppositeside edges are depressed into flat laminated surfaces;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view showing one of the depressed sideedges of the groove;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the metal plate shown in FIG. 6 used asa cover plate forcovering the outer periphery of a wire reel; 7

FIGS. 9 to 11 show longitudinal sections of another different steps ofdeforming a groove I with the aid of a modified press bed;

FIG. I2 is an enlarged perspective view showing one of the depressedside edges of the groove;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a cover plate for covering the outerperiphery of a wire reel and secured to the latter by means of a metalfixture;

FIG. 14 is a section on line XIV-XIV of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the metal fixture shown in FIG. 14; I

FIG. '16 is a section similar to FIG. 14, in which the metal fixture isin an intermediate step;

ture;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of an another modified metal fixture; e

FIGS. '19 and 20 are sections which show different steps of securing acover plate to a wire reel with the aid of the metal fixture shown inFIG. 18; and

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of a further modified metal fixture. I

In FIG. 1 there is. shown an elongate metal plate 1 having on 'its innersurface a, plurality of reinforcing deep grooves 2 extendingcontinuously across the metal plate, land separated in the lengthwisedirection of the metal plate 1'.

The depressing apparatus shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 comprises a press bed 3having one surface in engagement with the outer surface of the metalplate I, which is not provided with the reinforcing grooves 2, a pair ofrestrictable members 4, 4 so spaced asto receive the groove 2 andresiliently urged against the metal plate I to restrain the side walls20, 2a of each of said grooves 2 from their outwards movement at theintermediate thereof, a plunger member 5 disposed between the pair ofrestrictable members 4, 4 and for depressing that bottom portion 2b ofthe groove 2 which is located at the side edges 1a, 1a of the metalplate 1.

The plunger member 5 may be made integral with a reciprocating member 6connected to a'suitable hydraulic driving member (not shown). The pairof restrictable members 4, 4. are connected through compression springs7, 7 and urged against the metal plate 1 and normally in engagement withthe side walls 20, 2a of the groove 2.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view ofa modified metal fixengagement with theside walls 2a, 2a of the groove 2. The continued downward movement ofthe reciprocating member 6 causes compression of the springs 7 anddownward movement of the plunger member to depress the bottom portion217 of the groove 2.

Thus, the opposite side walls 2a, 2a are subjected at the intermediatethereof to an external force acting inwards to form two symmetricallyinwards re-entrant bent portions 2c, and 2d, 2d as shown in FIG. 4. A

further continued downward movement of the plunger member 5 causes thoseportions 2c, 20 of the side walls 2a, 2a which terminate at the openingside of the groove 2 to make contact with'the metal plate 1 and causesthe bottom portion 2b ofthose portions 2d, 2d of the side walls 2a, 2awhich terminate at the bottom portion 2b to be laminated in parallel oneupon the other to form a flat laminated surface as shown in FIG. 5.

If the metal plate 1 is intermittently fed between the restrictablemembers 4, 4 and the press bed 3 in correspondence with the distancebetween the grooves 2, 2 and the reciprocating member 6, that is, therestrictable members 4, 4 and the plunger member 5 are moved upwards anddownwards, the grooves 2 are successively depressed to form the flatlaminated surfaces at the opposite side edges la, la of the metal plate1 as shown in FIG. 6.

As described above, each of grooves 2 is provided at its both ends withthe two symmetrically inwards bent portions 20, 2c and 2d, 20' so thatthere is not produced any strain in the metal plate 1.

The metal plate 1 thus formed with the grooves 2 and the flat laminatedsurface 21;, 2c, 2d projected inwards as shown in FIG. 7 is coveredaround reinforcing rings B of flanges ofa wire reel A as shown in FIG.8.

Thus, the present invention makes it possible to form deeper reinforcinggrooves 2 and hence use a thinner metal plate 1 which is light in weightand high in mechanical strength.

As seen from the above, each groove 2 is dimensioned to have a depthwhich is sufficient to be deformed into two symmetrically inwardsreentrant bent portions 26, 2c and 2d, 2d when subjected at theintermediate of the opposite side walls 20, 2a to a suitable externalforce produced when the bottom portion 2b of the groove 2 is depressed.

The groove 2 shown in FIG. I is rectangular in section, but the groove 2may be ofinverted V-shape, trapezoid or like shape in section.

In FIG. 9 there is shown a modified press bed 3 provided at that portionthereof which is in opposition to the plunger member 5 with a recess 8whose width is a slightly wider than that of the groove 2, the recess 8extending in parallel with the lengthwise direction of the groove 2.

The downward movement of the plunger member 5 causes in the first placethe opening edge 2c of the groove 2 to bend into the recess Sand causessecondly the side walls 2a, 2a to form two symmetrically inwardsre-entrant bent portions as shown in FIG. 10. The continued downwardsmovement of the plunger member 5 result that the bottom portion 2b ofthe groove 2 be-' comes flush with the inner surface of the metalplate 1. The present modified press bed 3 has the advantage that themetal plate 1 with its flat inner surface as shown in FIG. 12 may beclosely covered around the reinforcing rings B of the flanges of thewire reel A without forming any gaps between the metal plate 1 and thereinforcing rings B, and that the flat laminated surfaces projected outof the outer surface of the metal plate 1 serve as friction bands whichcan prevent the cover plate from slipping over a bridge plate which maybe used when the wire reels are loaded on a transport carriage.

As stated hereinbefore, the present invention makes use of an elongatemetal plate provided at its inner surface with a plurality ofreinforcing grooves extending continuously across the total width of themetal plate and separated in the lengthwise direction of the metal plateand permits of manufacturing a cover plate by merely depressing the endportions of the grooves which have been deformed beforehand into twosymmetrically inwards re-entrant bent portions. Thus, the presentinvention has the advantage that the metal plate may be provided on itsinner surface with grooves each having a larger depth, that the groovesmay be provided at the end portions thereof with flat laminated surfacesby mere depression, that the depressing apparatus comprising a pressbed, a pair of restrictable members and a plunger member disposedbetween the restrictable members is simple in construction and efficientin operation, and that the eventual use of a press bed having a recesstherein makes the inner surface of the metal 'plate flat thussurrounding closely the outer periphery of a wire reel with said flatinner surface of the metal plate.

The cover plate C according to the present invention may be secured tothe outer periphery of a wire reel A .with the aid ofa metal fixture asshown in FIG. 13. The.

metal fixture comprises a metal strip 9 having at one end thereofachannel-shaped hook 10, at the other end thereof an angular hook 11 andat the intermediate thereof an angular projection 12 including two sidelegs l3, 13, One of the side legs l3, 13 is inclined from the metalstrip 9 by an acute angle a as shown in FIG. 15.

The upper ends of the two side legs l3, 13 may be bridged by aconnecting piece 14 and both the side legs l3, 13 may be inclined fromthe metal strip 9 by an acute angle a, respectively, as shown in FIG.17.

The above mentioned metal fixture may be used to secure the cover plateC to the reinforcing ring B of the flange of the wire reel A as follows.In the first place the channel shaped hook 10 is brought into engagementwith the front edge of the reinforcing ring B as shown in FIG. 16,secondly the hook 10 is pushed axially to bring the angular hook 11 intoengagement in a hole D formed in the cover plate C, and third theangular projection 12 is depressed downwards as shown in FIG. 14,thereby displacing the hooks l0 and 11 so as to embrace the ring B andhence radially securing the cover plate C to the reinforcing ring B bythe hooks 10, 11. Thus, the cover plate C can be secured to the outerperiphery of the wire reel A by a simple depressing operation in apositive manner In the metal fixture shown in FIG. 17 the two side tothe reinforcing ring B of the wire reel A.

In FIG. 18 there is shown an another modified metal fixture which isfurther provided with a tag 15 punched out of one of the side legs 13,13. The above mentioned metal fixture may be used to secure the coverplate C to the reinforcing ring B of the flange of the wire reel A asfollows. In the first place the channel shaped hook is brought intoengagement with the front edge of the reinforcing ring B as shown inFIG. 19, secondly the hook 10 is pushed axially to bring the angularhook 11 into engagement in the hole D formed in the cover plate C. Inthe present metal fixture when the angular projection 12 is depressedthe tag 15 projects out of the metal strip 9 as shown in FIG. and servesas an elastic piece which is urgedagainst the metal strip'9 and preventsthe channel-shaped hook 10 or the angular hook 11 from loosening therebypositively securing the cover plate C to the outer periphery of the wirereel A.

In FIG. 21 there is shown a further modified metal fixture which isprovided with tags l5, l5 punched out of both the side legs l3, 13connected together by the connecting piece 14. In the present metalfixture both of the tags l5, l5 serve as elastic pieces. Thus, the metalfixture according to the invention is simple in construction and canrigidly secure the cover plate C to the outer periphery of the wire reelA in a simple depression operation.

It will be understood that changes may be made in the details ofconstruction, arrangement and operation without departing from thespirit of the invention, especially as defined in the following claims.

. 6 What is claimed is: 1. In a cover platefor covering the outerperiphery ,of a wire reel comprising an elongate metal plate includingon its inner surface a plurality of reinforcing ribs extendingcontinuously across the metal plate and separated in the lengthwisedirection of the metal plate, eachof said ribs being deformed at the endportions thereof to a flat surface which abuts against a reinforcingring ofa flange of the wire reel when the cover plate is covered aroundthe outer periphery of the wire reel, the improvement wherein the saidreinforcing ribs are formed into rectangular grooves having verticalside walls each dimensioned to have a depth sufficient to be deformedinto two symmetrically inwards re-entrant bent portions when subjectedat the intermediate of the opposite side walls of said groove to anexternal force produced when the bottom portion of the groove isdepressed and in which said re-entrant bent portions are furtherdepressed at opposite side edges of each of said grooves into a flatlaminated surface.

2. A cover plate as claimed in claim 1, wherein that portion of saidflat laminated surface which corresponds to said bottom portion of thegroove is projected inwards from said inner surface of the metal platewhen said cover plate iscovered around reinforcflanges of a wire reel.

1. In a cover plate for covering the outer periphery of a wire reelcomprising an elongate metal plate including on its inner surface aplurality of reinforcing ribs extending continuously across the metalplate and separated in the lengthwise direction of the metal plate, eachof said ribs being deformed at the end portions thereof to a flatsurface which abuts against a reinforcing ring of a flange of the wirereel when the cover plate is covered around the outer periphery of thewire reel, the improvement wherein the said reinforcing ribs are formedinto rectangular grooves having vertical side walls each dimensioned tohave a depth sufficient to be deformed into two symmetrically inwardsre-entrant bent portions when subjected at the intermediate of theopposite side walls of said groove to an external force produced whenthe bottom portion of the groove is depressed and in which saidre-entrant bent portions are further depressed at opposite side edges ofeach of said grooves into a flat laminated surface.
 2. A cover plate asclaimed in claim 1, wherein that portion of said flat laminated surfacewhich corresponds to said bottom portion of the groove is projectedinwards from said inner surface of the metal plate when said cover plateis covered around reinforcing rings of flanges of a wire reel.
 3. Acover plate as claimed in claim 1, wherein that portion of said flatlaminated surface which corresponds to said bottom surface of the grooveis in flush with said inner surface of the metal plate when said coverplate is covered around reinforcing rings of flanges of a wire reel.